Machine for reclaiming bearings



July 29, 1947- R. STEPHENS MACHINE FOR RECLAIMING BEARINGS Filed May 29, 1944 2 sheets-sheet '1 will 3mm lclEnERT STEPHENS,

cmvmw July 29, 1947 R.. STEPHENS 2,424,591

MACHINE FOR RECLAIMING BEARINGS Filed May 29,- 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 56, 6032 iL 67 "i" 65 i5 Patented July 29, 1947 UNITED STATE-s PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR RECLAIMING BEARINGS Robert Stephens, Guthrie, Okla. Applicationvlvrayza, 1944, serial No. 537,332 6 clams.A (c1. 153-54.)

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1333, as

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention pertains to a novel machine for reclaiming or salvaging bearings or parts thereof. The machine is used on bearings of the type comprised of two races held together by a retainer or shield encircling both races and having a portion bent toward the reduced 'circumference of one of the races.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device by means of which the shield may be spread or opened to permit disassembling the bearing and also to restore the shield to its original position in reassembling the bearing. Disassembly of the bearing permits replacement of defective parts, cleaning and packing with fresh lubricant. Thus, the discarding of a defective bearing isavoided, and the undamaged parts are reclaimed.

The device comprises generally a frame in which the bearing may be secured and subjected to the action of a tool which spreads or opens the aforementioned part of the shield. The tool is a sharp roller carried by a rotatable shaft which is also adjustable lengthwise towards the bearing in order that the latter may be engaged by the roller with the necessary pressure in successive stages of the operation. When the shield has been initially opened, a similarly supported bevelled roller is inserted and rotated withinthe shield'to enlarge the opening sufliciently to permitV removal of the upper race. After the bearing has been reassembled with the necessary new parts and repacked With lubricant, aV third tool in the form of a beveled roller is mounted on `the shaft and brought to bear against the opened part of the shield in order to bend it back to the original position.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the following description and in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevation of the device;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail vertical section in a plane parallel to that of Figure 1, showing the initial spreading operation;

Figure 4 is a similar detail showing an advanced spreading operation, and

Figure 5 is another detail section illustrating the reassembling operation.

The device is built in an upright frame comprising two side walls I, an integral top 2 and a separatebase 3. Between the side walls I, the frame is open as indicated by the numeral 4, for a purpose that will presently be described. The base 3 is retained in the bottom of the frame by any suitable means such as a series of bolts v5.

amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) Upon the base is formed a seat 6 for supporting the 'bearing on which work is to be done.

The frame is formed with two horizontal partitions 'I carrying central bearings 8. In the bearings is journalled a shaft 9 formed at its upper end with a shoulder Il) on wihch is mounted a thrust bearing seat Il. The seat supports a thrust bearing I2 on which is mounted a turning screw I3 surrounding the shaft 9 and threaded into a nut I4 fIXed on the top 2 of the frame. The screw carries a suitable number of radial turning rods I5 accessible through the open sides Il of the frame. The shaft 9 extends beyond the nut It, as indicated by the numeral I6, and carries externally of the frame a turning wheel Il. By means ofthe wheel, the shaft 9 can be turned freely7 without sliding movement, in the screw I3 and the bearings 8. On the other hand, rotation of the screw I3 by means of the rods I5 in one directoin will lower the screw and in the other direction will permit free upward sliding oi the shaft under the action of a coil springr 9'.

On the lower end of the shaft is fastened a transverse carrier member I8 having apertures I9 and 2l] respectively in its ends. A double forked arm 2l has one of its forks 22 fitted on one end of the carrier i8 and fastened thereto by a bolt 23 passed through apertures 24 which are registered with the aperture I9. The re maining fork 25 is transverse of the fork 22 and receives a starting disk 23 rotatably mounted on a pin 2l and having a sharp circular edge 28.

The bearing to be opened is laid concentrically upon the seat 6. It includes a pair of races 30 and 3| between which are mounted a series of balls 32 and a ball spacer 33. The outer wall of the race 30 is tapered at 34, and a retaining ring or shield 35 is fitted beneath the race 3l and over the wall 34 of the race 30.

A stud bolt 3E is mounted in the center of the base 3 and extends a short distance upwardly beyond the top of the seat I5. A holding plate 31 with a central opening 38 is mounted on the stud and laid upon the upper bearing race 30. The bottom of the plate 3l consists of several parallel annular surfaces 39 to accommodate bearings of various lengths. The plate 31 is tightened upon the bearing by means of a nut 40 on the upper end of the stud. The arm 2l is adjusted about the bolt 23 in a position that will bring the sharp edge 28 between the tapered wall 34 and the edge of the shield 35 when the shaft 9 is brought downward, and the bolt is tightened to secure this adjustment. The shaft 9 is then adjusted downward by operation of the handle bars I5 to insert the edge 28 with suicient pressure in the position described. The shaft is `then rotated by the wheel Il through at least 360 .degrees to initially separate the shield 35 from the race 30.

Another double forked arm 4|, similar to the arm 2 I, is mounted in like manner by a bolt 23 on the remaining end of the carrier I8. The lower fork 42 of this arm rotatably carries a finishing or spreading disk v43 on a pin 44. This disk differs from the disk in that its sharp edge is formed by a wider angle or bevel 4S. The fork 4l is adjusted for entrance of the edge 45 between the wall 34 and shield 35 after the initial separation has been made b'y the disk 26. The shaft 9 is rotated by wheel I1 to roll the disk 43 completely around the bearing. The shaft is adjusted downwardly in stages, if necessary, until the shield has opened sufficiently to permit withdrawal of the race 3i). The interior of the bearing is accessible through slots 41 in the seat 6. The bearing, on being disassembled, can be thoroughly inspected. Worn parts are replaced, the remaining parts cleaned, and the bearing repacked and reassembled.

In order to complete the reassembly operation, a knurling tool is provided for bending the shield 35 back against the wall 34. This tool includes a channel body 59 adapted to be tted on the lower edge of the carrier i3 and having a downward angular extension 5l from one end. The respective ends of the channel are formed with pairs of ears 52 and 53 straddling the ends of the member i8. The ears 52 are fastened by the bolt 23 inserted as formerly in the aperture i9.

strength beneath the bolt 23 when the knurling tool is brought downward under pressure against the bearing, as will presently be described.

The extension 5l has a slot 55 receiving a conical knurling roller 5S journalled on a pin 57. When the bearing has been reassembled, it is mounted on the seat 5` in the manner described and the roller is brought under pressure against the opened part of the shield 35 and rolled around it to restore it to the original condition.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and been described, it will be understood that various alterations may be made without departure from the spirit of the invention as indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described com prising a frame, a hollow screw threaded in said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted in said screw and having a thrust bearing against an end of said screw, a seat in the base of said frame and spaced from one end of said shaft, a clamp containing Various annular' surfaces for securing a bearing on said seat, a circumferential wedgedshaped roller carried by said end of said shaft in a plane angular to the plane of said seat, said circumferential wedge-shaped roller adapted for spreading open the outer radial portion of a bearing shield.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a frame, a shaft rotatable and slidably adjustable therein, a seat in the base of said frame and spaced from one end of said shaft, a clamp adapted forY securing Various sizes of bearings on said seat, a transverse carrier member on said end of said shaft, a forked member attached to said carrier member, and a circumferentially wedge-shaped roller journalled in said forked member in a plane angular tothe plane of said seat, said circumferentialV wedge-shaped roller being adapted to spread open the outer side of a cylindrical bearing shield.

3. A machine of the character described comlprising a frame, a shaft rotatable and slidably adjustable therein, a seat in the base of said frame and spaced from one end of said shaft, a clamp for securing a bearing on said seat adapted to secure Various sized bearings, a transverse carrier member on said end of saidshaft, a forked member attached to said carrier member, a sharp wedged-shaped roller journalled and mounted for rotation in said forked member in a plane angular to the plane of said seat and adapted to spread open a bearing shield, said forked member being pivotally adjustable on said carrier member.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a frame, a hollow screw threaded in said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted in said screw and having a thrust bearing against an end of said screw, a seat in the base of said frame and spaced from one end of said shaft, a spring bearing lengthwise on said shaft oppositely to said bearing, a clamp for securing a bearing on said seat adapted to hold various sized bearings, a transverse carrier member on said end of said shaft, a forked member attached to said carrier member, and a sharp-wedge-shaped roller journalled in said forked member in a plane angular to the plane of said seat, said sharp wedgeshaped roller being adapted to spread open the outer radial portion of a bearing shield.

5. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a tubular screw threaded in said frame, a shaft rotatably fitting said screw, a thrust bearing interposed between one end of said screw and shoulder on said shaft, a seat on said frame in alignment with and spaced from the adjacent end of said shaft, a spring urging said shaft axially with respect to said screw to load said bearing, clamping means operable to secure a bearing on said seat concentric of the axis of said shaft, a roller having a periphery wedge-shaped in cross section, means mounting said roller on the aforesaid adjacent end of said shaft in offset relation with said axis and for pivotal movement on an axis intersecting and angularly related to said axis, said screw being rotatable to axially translate,v said shaft against the urge of said spring.

6. In a machine of the type described, a frame, a shaft journaled in said frame for rotation on an axis, a seat on said frame in alignment with and spaced from one end of said shaft, means operable to clamp a bearing on said seat, a member xed to said one end of said shaft, an arm pivoted on said member on an axis normal to and offset from the axis of said shaft, a roller journaled on said arm on an axis substantially normal to and offset from the pivot axis of said arm, and means operable to axially translate said shaft toward and from said seat.

ROBERT STEPHENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,319,394 I-Iuddleston Oct. 21, 1919 1,370,040 Newman Mar. 1, 1921 546,468 Heinig Sept. 17, 1895 1,319,395 Huddleston Oct. 2l, 1919 `859,838 Powers et al July'9, 1907 1,149,520 Humphreys Aug. 10, 1915 

